Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
The sentence, like many other things, is a large item composed of smaller items.
Considered as a large item, it is sometimes difficult to understand. Therefore, we
will begin with thesmallest, simplest elements that make up a sentence, gradually
moving toward the large, more complicated ones.
WORDS
A word is the smallest part of speech and the easiest element of speech to recognize.
EACH GROUP OF LETTERS IN THIS SENTENCE IS A WORD.
There are different kinds of words, according to the particular part a given word plays when
it is used in speech (writing or speaking). To each kind of word we assign a label that
shows which part of speech that word is.
As you may already know, there are eight parts of speech.
noun
pronoun
verb
preposition
adverb
adjective
We will consider three of them in this unit: noun, pronoun, and verb.
NOUNS
A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.
A noun may name a type of person, place, thing, or idea.
conjunction
interjection
Nouns that name particular persons, places, things, or ideas are proper nouns. Proper
nouns are capitalized.
**NOTE: Words that name ideas are sometimes hard to recognize as nouns because they
name abstract ideas that we cannot see. These are abstract nouns (e.g. time,
imagination, judgment, October, Saturday).
Even though these words name things we cannot see, they are still nouns because
they name something.
Abstract proper nouns should also be capitalized.
PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word that may substitute for a noun.
Some examples
becomes
Now look at this sentence
OR
VERBS
A verb shows an action or a state of being.
Action verbs are easy to recognize.
Some examples
is = verb of being
Now click on the link below to do Exercise 1.
Link to Exercise 1
Parts of speech do not just sit idly about without any purpose. They have specific tasks to
perform when they are put together in a sentence.
Look at this sentence.
There are three nouns in this sentence: philanthropists, millions, and charity.
The action in this sentence is expressed by the verb donated.
Although there are three nouns in this sentence, only one of them is actually DOING the
action of donating: philanthropists.
Philanthropists donated
We could also express this same idea with a pronoun.
are
in this sentence.
As we did with the action verb example, we could substitute a pronoun for the
noun, friends, in this sentence.
Knowing that verbs can express either action or being, we can now expand our rule.
When a NOUN or PRONOUN is paired with a verb so that the noun or pronoun is
doing the action or the being expressed by the verb, we call that noun or pronoun
the verbs SUBJECT.
**SPECIAL NOTE: Sometimes we use sentences in which a subject is not
actually stated, but is, nevertheless, understood in the meaning.
Example
You, as the DOER of the action verb, call, is the SUBJECT here.
Because we use such statements when we are talking directly to someone, we usually
omit the word you. We consider it unnecessary understood in the sentence.
Therefore, in statements such as -- Call the plumber, please -- we say that the subject is
you (understood)
Now you know how to locate the subject in a noun-verb partnership: look for the noun (or
pronoun) that is DOING the action or the being expressed by the verb.
The verb in this noun-verb partnership also has a job to do. It functions as the action or
as the being that the subject is DOING.
Look at these examples.
1.
2.
We already know that the noun philanthropists, the DOER of the action, donated, is
the subject of the noun-verb partnership, philanthropists donated (example #1).
We also know that the noun friends is the subject of the noun-verb partnership,
are (example #2).
friends
These verbs donated and are also perform a specific task in this noun-verb
partnership: they express the subjects action or state of being.
We call a verb that performs this function a predicate.
Philanthropists = subject
donated = predicate
friends = subject
are = predicate
you (understood) = subject
call = predicate
The verbs in the sentences below are also doing the job of a predicate.
they = subject
donated = predicate
they = subject
are = predicate
This information leads us to a rule:
The VERB in a noun/pronoun verb partnership expressing
the action or being of the subject is a PREDICATE.
Sometimes the predicate will be composed of two or three verbs that fit together -the main verb preceded by one of more helping verbs.
Helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs) help the main verb to form its tense (time) or
to emphasize its action. They always come BEFORE the main verb.
Note how helping verbs change the tense (time) of each main verb below.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To be a predicate, a verb that ends in ing must ALWAYS have a
helping verb with it. An ing verb WITHOUT a helping verb cannot be a predicate in
a sentence.
Even though hillside is next to the verb howled, it is not the subject here because it
is not DOING the howling. The dog is.
Sometimes the verbs in the predicate may be separated from one another.
Look at these sentences.
1.
The word often is an adverb, not a helping verb. The predicate is has
howled.
2.
destroyed.
Even when the DOER of the action is known, it is not the subject unless it is working in
a partnership with the verb.
Example
office = subject
was destroyed = predicate
Now that you understand nouns/pronouns, verbs, subjects, and predicates (WORDS), you
are ready to move up to a larger segment: phrases.
A phrase is a group of words which may contain noun/pronouns or verb forms, but
does NOT contain a subject or a predicate.
**REMEMBER: Every subject has a predicate, and every predicate has a subject. These
two functions never appear without each other. They form a partnership, a team.
Some examples of PHRASES:
Even though these phrases contain nouns (pronouns) or verb forms, or both nouns (or
pronouns) and verb forms, none of the nouns/pronouns/verbs have the qualifications
needed to be subjects or predicates. None of them work as a partnership as a team.
Also, these phrases do NOT seem to say anything complete either.
The words below are a phrase, NOT a clause. This means that the noun, Smith, is NOT
a subject and that the verb form, eating, is NOT a predicate. Why cant these two words
possibly be subject and predicate?
You probably noticed that, of the five clause examples given earlier in Section 5, only
three were sentences (#1, 3, 4).
Look back at all five clause examples. Read each one to yourself.
Did you notice any difference in the meaning between the three clauses that ARE
sentences (#1, 3, 4) and the two clauses (#2, 5) that are NOT sentences?
Yes, there is a difference!
Clauses #1, 3, and 4 give a thought or an idea that is COMPLETE, that can stand by
itself, independent of other words.
However, clauses #2 and 5 give only an INCOMPLETE thought or idea, one
that cannot stand independent by itself, one that needs some more words to make it
whole.
To see the difference, look at clauses #1 and 2 copied below for you.
1.
This clause tells us what happened and who made it happen. Its thought is COMPLETE
and finished. We are not left hanging or asking questions after a clause like this one
2.
This clause tells us what happened and who made it happen, BUT its thought is NOT
complete.
The word after changes the clause meaning, making it INCOMPLETE.
After reading this clause, we are left hanging left waiting for it to be finished. This
clause raises a question: What happened after Webster took the train?
These two clauses illustrate the two kinds of clauses we use in the English language:
independent clauses
Clause #1
2. predicate
3. complete thought
2. predicate
3. incomplete thought
You have now reached the main focus of this unit: writing complete sentences.
You will be happy to know that while you have been progressing
from word to phrase to clause, you have actually already been teaching yourself about
sentence structure!
Heres the good news. In order to have a sentence, you need only TWO elements:
1. a subject-predicate unit
AND
2. a complete thought
citizens = subject
protested = predicate
complete thought? yes
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
=
Therefore, as long as you remember what constitutes an independent clause, you will
automatically recognize what constitutes a simple sentence.
=
2.
=
3.
=
4.
Examples 2, 3, and 4 are fragments, not complete sentences, because they are missing
at least one element needed to construct a complete sentence.
Except in rare instances, fragments are MAJOR WRITING ERRORS. Try not to use
fragments in your writing. Use complete sentences instead.
Now click on the link below to do Exercise 6.
Link to Exercise 6